Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette's

I really really enjoyed this. It was spooky and creepy and eerie, but also had an underlying message about being a girl in the world where people don’t believe you, who don’t keep you safe when you tell them something is wrong. Who just write you off as ‘hysterical’, or ‘crazy’ or ‘emotional’. I liked the supernatural horrors of St Bernadette’s intertwined with the real life horrors of being a young woman or girl who preyed on by real life monsters, who don’t get what they deserve until it’s too late. And I like that the ending tied up with girls standing with girls and facing their fears and their monsters head on, and getting that revenge they so rightfully deserved, especially for Julianna! Loved the writing, though I wish I had been more invested in Rachel, I sort of skimmed her chapters.

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kiwi_00's review

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emotional tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I enjoyed the book, I liked reading about the characters at this girls only school, I related with that and the atmosphere (though I'm not from Malaysia!). I liked the care taken to write about a character(s) who experienced

and the fact that it could trigger some readers.

I really wanted to rate this higher but I think the main gripe I have with this book is the pacing. For the first 50 pages, the scene was set and everything was really well written and described. Around 150 pages, it was beginning to feel a bit like I was slogging through the book especially since

there were so many character povs that were very similar and I don't feel like that they added much to the story.

And the at the end of the book, everything felt rushed and there was probably difficulty to wrap up all plot lines. I honestly wanted more about Khadijah, her sister, her mother and her friends. I think that would have made for a nuanced story about

SA and PTSD, especially that was the primary motivation for Khadijah to start investigating.

As for the mystery/investigating,

the ending was too vague (i'm aware that SA does not always end in the perpetrator going to prison, but the book feels unfinished)

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cookiemonstaly's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I read this in (almost) one sitting.

This is a story about young girls on the cusp of adulthood, whose lives up to that point have only revolved around excelling in school. This a story about young girls and all the adults in their lives who have failed them.

In an all-girls school, there is a mass hysteria occurrence. No rhyme or reason, girls randomly start screaming.

In the midst of all this, there is Khadijah and Rachel. Khadijah, who has gone silent after a traumatic event, throws herself into trying to solve the mystery of the hysteric episodes. Meanwhile, Rachel is struggling to hold up the perfect life her mother has demanded of her while dealing with the voice inside her that wants to be free.

So much of the story feels so familiar to me, mirroring my own schooling experiences. Especially the need to “save face” and to have to sweep everything under the rug when the unspeakable happen.

When that twist happens near the end, it feels like relief because finally, FINALLY, someone is on the side of these young girls. Someone is actually protecting them. I could not have asked for a better ending.

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goldenelegy's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

another work from hanna alkaf that i absolutely adore!
im not a big fan of horror genre but this book convinces me with its haunted-southeast-asian-school premise. and like usual, hanna alkaf tackles mental health issues in her story.

and surprisingly i actually don't find this story so horror. it focuses more on family problems and mental health issues than on the horror story. it seems that alkaf tries to insert a lesson that sometimes it's human that is the monster, not the ghosts, not the djinns.

i wish i could see more of khad and rachel's friendship dynamics, though. they found out about each other after about 50% into the book.

anyway, this book is worth given a chance!!

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Oh I wanted to like this more than I did. The premise was so interesting and it generally felt different than most YA thrillers out there. I do think the marketing did this one a disservice because it is marketed as dark academia, but it didn't read that way to me. Yes, it was taking place at a boarding school, but the academic aspect didn't necessarily play into the overall mystery/thriller plot taking place.

I did appreciate the way that this explores body automony, trauma, and relationships between teen girls. The relationships and characters are really what drive the main story in the book, which was definitely one of my favorite aspects of the story.

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saaaasni's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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mezzythedragon's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Great commentary on how academic institutions are not the best at protecting their students (and that’s putting it lightly), as they are more interested in upholding their reputations than holding perpetrators accountable. And even if

the missing girls were saying the school is protecting them by hiding them from their shared abuser, that still doesn’t address the problem. If anything, I felt they were gaslit into thinking that.

I just wish the ending wrapped up more effectively. I’ll say between Khadijah and Rachel, Khadijah’s mom was better at supporting her daughter, especially since she’s atoning for the big thing that happened to her. Rachel’s mom was just horrible.

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cboddie's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

HS & up

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